Chapter 20: Chapter 20

"There's always a side of a woman that likes a man from the other side of the track."

-Laura Dern-

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Before long, the chicken was ready to be served served along with the soup. They took their seat while the cook who had been standing away from them returned to do the dishes. Clara took a piece of the chicken and placed it in her plate. She took a spoonful of the soup and blew it gently before shoving it into her mouth.

It warmed her body and she stared at him with a kind expression. Clara had started to feel a little bit more comfortable around him. There was a little bus of hope in her heart that wished her moment together with him would never end the way it did. Raphael could sense Clara began to relax around him as well, and he felt slightly relieved. All the efforts he had made for her did not come to waste.

Before they managed to get into their main dish, the doorbell rang and the housekeeper rushed from the laundry room to open it. There was a moment of silent which roused both Raphael and Clara's curiosity.

"Who is it?" Raphael had asked, but instead of an answer, they heard a rush of footsteps entering the place which made its way to the kitchen. What stood before them was quite a shock to Raphael. It was none other than Jovanna Devergie. Apparently she had followed her friend Yvonne's advice to visit him without notice which was quite a rude advice but some women have the tendency to not think further beyond one's feelings.

Jovanna entered the place like it was her own, despite being taught about common manners and etiquette at school before and headed to the dining room to meet Raphael with an excited expression, the woman had been waiting so long to finally visit him again but the excitement slowly faded when she saw Clara sitting right across of him. The two had looked so close together, judging from the way they looked at each other before vs when she entered made a point that she was bothering them.

Who is this woman?

She put down the gifts she had bought for him in a table near the dining room and pretended Clara did not exist. It was rather embarrassing even for her having to act in such manner, but at this point she still needed to prove something. Raphael stood up and greeted her out of politeness. He approached Jovanna with a forced smile.

The two had a small conversation and the whole time her eyes kept on going back and forth between Raphael and Clara. She silently cut a piece of the meat and put it in her mouth, trying to distract herself from the two, yet the two were talking right in front of her and her ears were functioning quite fine, she heard everything they were saying.

At first, Clara did not really mind Jovanna's presence, but the more they spoke, the clearer it became to Clara that she had a thing for him. Just from reading her body language alone, Jovanna was making an attempt to seduce him. Clara was not sure what it was, but she did not like the feeling she was having. Perhaps it was jealousy, but it was slightly different. She was feeling annoyed and bothered, or something in between. Raphael asked Jovanna to join them but before that, he introduced Clara to Jovanna as his fiancée.

Hearing the confession, Jovanna could not be more doubtful with what she just heard. Her stomach felt tight upon hearing the confession. Raphael whom she admired her entire life was well known to never have a woman around him, he barely even had any girlfriend, nonetheless a fiancée. The air was getting tense, while Clara tried to deal with the unexpected emotion she was having, Jovanna was upset. She was devastated. It must have been a joke.

Raphael was not oblivious to the situation, he was aware of Jovanna's intention, he had noticed her behavior and attitude toward him the entire time, the small hair twirl she made with her fingers, the way she batted her lashes and spoke whenever she talked to him, she was making it too obvious, at first he tried to take them lightly, because he did not want to stir up any drama or hurt anyone's feeling, but it was time to make it clear to her.

Jovanna did not seem to handle the truth well, she picked her bag up, and found an excuse to excuse herself. The longer she stayed there, the more humiliated she became. Eventually, she left without saying anything else. She entered her car and warm tears started falling down her face.

She loved Raphael and it was difficult for her to find reasons to despise him but at that moment she was incredibly mad at him, how could a stranger woman whose name was never mentioned anywhere could suddenly become Raphael's fiancee. She could not accept it. In her own mind, Raphael was hers, she had spent her entire life rejecting men who confessed to her just because she loved Raphael, there was no way she would let him go just like that.

Raphael picked up the bag Jovanna left and found a bottle of his favorite perfume. He sighed before putting it back to the bag and gave it to his housekeeper. He turned his attention back on Clara and sat down on his seat. He watched as Clara cut the pieces in a slightly irritated manner, although she tried her best to show no particular emotion, Raphael could sense her displease.

"That was Jovanna, she was my childhood friend, she tends to act a bit dramatic, please don't mind her." he moved his finger to touch hers but she pulled it away.

"She clearly likes you." Clara casually took a bite of the broccoli on her plate. There was a bit of harshness in her tone. Raphael did not like where it was going.

"I know, but trust me, there is nothing going on between us" He assured. Clara put down her utensils and stared at him straight in the eyes, her gaze was as cold as ice.

"You don't have to explain, Raphael. You can date anyone you want. You have all the power and money to do so, It's fine. Have you forgotten, this is all just part of the deal, is it not ? I am not your real fiancee anyway." Raphael felt mentally injured upon hearing her statement. His pride was hurt. Does she think I am just playing a round this whole time?

He rose from his seat and grabbed her hand. Clara gasped and he pulled her up from her seat.

"What are you doing?" Still grabbing her hand, Raphael stole a kiss from her, it was not just a light peck on the lips. It was a real kiss. Clara resisted and pushed him away, but instead of stepping back? He deepened the kiss, he even tried to force and opening to insert his tongue on her mouth. She stepped on his leg out of defense and it managed to make him broke the kiss. Raphael moved away from her. There was frustration in his eyes.

"You think I'm just messing with you? Clara, Love, you have no idea how much I've restrained myself for you." His tone scared her a bit and he seemed to notice it. He rammed his fingers on his hair and took a step away from her.He knew he needed to calm himself down before he did something he would regret.

He said nothing else before leaving her who was standing dumbfounded in the large dining room, touching her lips with glassy eyes. She was still trying to process what was happening to no avail. One thing she knew, her heart was hurting and she hated that feeling.